Monthly Archives: March 2012

News, Urban Planning

DPD approves short subdivision on 14th Ave. S., grading on South Beacon Hill

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The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has announced a few new decisions related to Beacon Hill.

At 2706 14th Ave. S., on 14th two blocks west of the Red Apple, DPD has granted a short subdivision to create four unit lots out of the existing single site.

The planned development on the site would eventually be two duplex townhomes with four surface parking spaces. You can see the status of construction permits for the site here, and see the decision page here for more information about the site subdivision. If you wish to appeal this decision, the deadline to submit an appeal is March 26.


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On the far south end of the hill, DPD has made a Determination of Non-Significance with conditions (no environmental impact statement required), for a grading and vegetation removal project at three properties. The first is 8839 36th Ave. S. See the decision page here for more information.

The same decision was given for the nearby project at 3400 Edward Dr. S. See the decision page here.

The same decision was given for the nearby project at 9025 Cecil Ave. S. See the decision page here.


View Grading projects on South Beacon Hill in a larger map

News

Power out in much of South Seattle

(At 2:15 p.m. the power went back on for many, if not most, of those affected by the outage. — ed.)

If your lights are out and your computer is offline, don’t feel alone. The power is out through a wide area of the city, including Beacon Hill, Sodo, Mt. Baker, Georgetown, and Columbia City.

Seattle City Light currently estimates more than 28,000 customers are without power, but the problem has been identified and they expect power to return by 5 p.m. (They have just updated it to 6 p.m. — ed.) See the outage map here.

In the meantime, please remember that intersections where traffic signals are dead should be treated as four-way stops, and drive carefully. Stay in if possible.

(Posted via phone — our power is out, too!)

Arts, Education, Local Events, Volunteering and Giving

Family films, music, and auction to benefit Rainier Valley Co-op Preschool

Click to see a larger copy of the event flyer.
Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool, located in the Beacon Hill Lutheran Church building on South Forest Street, is hosting a movie matinee, music party, and auction fundraiser on Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m. until noon. The event will take place at the Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill (1515 12th Avenue). All proceeds go to support this community preschool.

The day will include two showings of Touch My Heart: Gentle Films on the Big Screen, a collection of film shorts from this year’s Children’s Film Festival, live music by Eli Rosenblatt, and a silent auction. Highlights of the auction will include desserts of the month, a handmade quilt, single-malt scotch whiskey tasting, landscape architectural consultation, bike tuneups, a watercolor and ink portrait commission of your child, a birthday party for 15 at Southgate Roller Rink, gift cards to local businesses, and a guided mushroom identification walk.

Tickets are $6 in advance, and $8 at the door. You can buy tickets for a 10:00 a.m. movie showing with the auction afterward, or for the 10:30 auction with a movie showing afterward at 11:30. The auction will run from 10:30-11:15. Please bring cash or checks for your tickets, concessions, and the silent auction.

For information about tickets, contact: rvcpmovies@gmail.com.

Urban Planning

DPD issues decision on project at 1751 18th Ave. S.

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The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has announced a Determination of Non-Significance decision regarding 1751 18th Ave. S. (the southwest corner of South State Street and 18th Avenue South), where a land use application has been filed to build three 3-story single family residences, demolishing the existing house on the site.

A Determination of Non-Significance indicates that the proposal has been determined not to have a significant adverse impact upon the environment, and so an environmental impact statement (EIS) is not required.

You can read the decision here. For further information, see the Notice of Decision here.


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Urban Planning

Second early design guidance meeting next week for 12th Ave. S. apartment project

The Design Review Board is convening on Tuesday, March 13 at 6:30 p.m. for a second early design guidance meeting regarding the apartment development at 1814 12th Ave. S. The proposal for the site is to demolish the existing single family residence and construct a four-story, 23-unit apartment building with underground parking for 12 vehicles.

There was a previous early design guidance meeting in December, when this proposal was presented.

This document describes the public commentary and the comments and guidance given by the Design Review Board at the December meeting.

At an early design guidance meeting such as this one and the one in December, applicants present information about the site and the project. Public comment is then allowed, and the members of the Design Review Board will give their comments and suggest guidelines for the continuation of the development project.

The meeting will be held at the WellSpring Family Services Center community room, 1900 Rainier Ave. S. For further information, contact planner Bruce Rips, at 206-615-1392.


The site of the proposed apartment building. View a larger map at Google Maps.

Crime, Meetings

Neighbors invited to public safety meeting 3/7

City Councilmember Bruce Harrell.
City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, chair of the new Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology Committee, has announced that the committee will hold special meetings in the Seattle neighborhoods, starting with a meeting in our South Precinct area this Wednesday, March 7, at 5:30 p.m. at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St.

Harrell’s website says “We will work with your neighborhood and focus on real public safety solutions. The special committee meeting will include state-of-the-art polling technology.
We will listen, identify solutions, and take action.” Representatives from the Seattle Police Department South Precinct as well as elected officials and other community leaders will be there.

This meeting is co-hosted by the Southeast Seattle Crime Prevention Council. All are invited.

Clean and Green, Volunteering and Giving

Friends of Lewis Park need you to pledge your time

Plants grow happily in a cleaned-up Lewis Park. Photo courtesy of Friends of Lewis Park.
The Friends of Lewis Park need your help. They have sent out the following letter to explain:

Hello Neighbors,

Friends of Lewis Park are entering the 6th year of forest restoration of the Lewis Park Natural Area. In the Fall of 2011, the Opportunity Funds award paid for professional work crews to clear the steep slopes of Lewis Park. Once the forest of laurel and holly, ivy and clematis was removed, a beautiful topography was revealed. As a result of the hard work by many volunteers during the last five years of restoration, the illicit and criminal activity that once plagued Lewis Park has disappeared. Now that the area is open and accessible, we need to encourage positive activity in the park. In addition, the Lewis Park Restoration is in transition from a forest steward-led restoration project to long-term community-based stewardship.

An Interpretive Trail will be a great way to both foster that transition and provide a way to create positive activity within this beautiful Natural Area. We want to create a trail that will reflect the many cultures on Beacon Hill in a way that introduces and educates our community of the values and benefits of having an urban forest in our neighborhood. Our goal is to hire a landscape architect with the funds to design the bones of the trail and, then engage our community to provide the content of the natural area interpretive focus.

The Lewis Park Steering committee is applying for a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple grant to hire a landscape architect who will design the trail and facilitate community-based interpretive content for the trail. To receive the grant, we need to document match pledges. To that end, if you would like to support the Lewis Park Natural Area Interpretive Trail project, please do the following:

Send an email to: lewisparkseattle@gmail.com with the following info:

YOUR PLEDGE MUST BE RECEIVED BY FRIDAY, MARCH 9 IN ORDER TO INCLUDE IT IN OUR GRANT PROPOSAL.

Name

Address

Phone

Hours pledged (anything from 4-40)

Activity (this can be attending design meetings, outreach, flyers, food donation, grant/project development)

Questions can be directed to:

Dee Dunbar, dd1377@gmail.com, 206-778-1377

Susan Sanders, susan@soldbysusan.com, 206-914-4155

Urban Planning

Deadline approaching for public comment on golf clubhouse project

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(This story was supposed to post on the website on March 2. Because of an error, it did not post when it was scheduled to in the blog software. We apologize for the delay. — Ed.)

A proposed design for the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, as viewed from the Beacon Avenue side.
The Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has published a notice of application for the new Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse, as follows:

“Council Land Use Action to allow a new 19,800 sq. ft. two-story clubhouse and driving range structure (Jefferson Park Golf Course). Project includes new field lighting up to 90 ft. in height, netting/net poles up to 140 ft. in height, and 63 additional surface parking spaces for a total of 80 parking spaces. Existing clubhouse and driving structures to be demolished. Review includes a 4,100 sq. ft. single-story cart storage structure and 20,000 sq. ft. of paving improvements located on the eastside of Beacon Avenue South (DPD #3013107: 4100 Beacon Avenue South). Determination of Non-Significance prepared by the Seattle Parks & Recreation.”

Currently, the project still needs to complete the SEPA environmental review process, and the City Council must approve the expansion of a public facility in a single family zone. SEPA is the State Environmental Policy Act, which requires public agencies to consider the environmental impacts of a proposal before it can be approved.

The deadline for public comment on the project is less than two weeks away: March 13. You can comment online here.

Meetings, Urban Planning

The Oak, street trees, and more on agenda for 3/6 NBHC meeting

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This site on Beacon Avenue is soon to be The Oak, a bar/restaurant. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

The Oak, the new restaurant/bar to open on Beacon Avenue, is among several topics to be discussed at the next meeting of the North Beacon Hill Council on Tuesday March 6, 7 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library.

Here’s the agenda for the March meeting:

  • 7:00 Hello and welcomes
  • 7:10 Dylan Ahearn and Devor Barton: Tree planting on pedestrian/bike paths
  • 7:25 Triangle Park neighbors re: proposed tavern/restaurant
  • 7:50 Dee Dunbar: Need for help! Lewis Park
  • 8:00 Other announcements and community concerns, including changes to the Jefferson Park Golf Clubhouse
  • 8:30 Executive Board meeting to vote on letter concerning new restaurant/tavern

All in the community are welcome to attend and participate.

You may want to mark your calendar as well for the April 3 meeting, which will focus on the grand opening of Jefferson Park and the proposed development of the corner lot at 17th and McClellan, the light rail station block.